Where Gods Fear to Tread
by Slightly Sinister Sinestra
Summary: Seto Kaiba is in business partnership with Bruce Wayne. These two gods find out that there is one thing they fear, and its name is Alfred Pennyworth. On hiatus.
1. Know thy enemy

Disclaimer: Hmm, Bruce Wayne meets Seto Kaiba, come on! Do the owners even live in the same country?

So, this just kinda happened. It's my response to a challenge my sister set. I had to write something about one of her fangirl obsessions and this is what I came up with. She's a major Batman fangirl and I can kinda write Bats, so yeah. Drop me a review and tell me if it's great or if it sucks.

Prolouge: Know thy Enemy

The airport was crowded. How was one to spot one business man among the throngs of briefcases and neat suits? Running a hand through his dark hair, he scanned the crowd. There was one face standing out in the crowd, a young man. The letters KC were embroidered into the collor of his coat. Shrugging, he beeped the horn of his car and got out. The man turned to him, and Bruce drew a small breath.

The boy was young, very young. Maybe seventeen, eighteen at the most. With all of KaibaCorp's acheivements, he'd expected someone older. Someone _over_ twenty. A child at the mansion was going to be strange. However, Alfred was going to have fun. The boy was tall, standing over six foot, but the slender built was too thin to accommadate for the height. Yep, Alfred was going to watch the boy like a hawk until he'd put on some weight.

The boy strode over to him, cutting his way through the crowd with ease. Some faces turned to look at him, feeling as if they should know him. The boy didn't even turn to look at them. His long coat billowed out behind him, managing to defy gravity. Bruce wondered vaguely about it. It was one thing for the batcape, that spent its outings flying off of buildings, but an ordinary coat? That was another thing Alfred was going to enjoy, the boy's attire. Way too ... punk for a well known business man. The boy reached him. Putting on his best business smile, Bruce thrust his hand at the boy.

'Bruce Wayne, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, I'm pleased to meet you at last.' His hand was taken with surprising strenght. His hands, like the rest of his frame, were long and slender. 'Seto Kaiba, CEO of KaibaCorp. I would've thought our negoitiations over the phone would've ironed out any problems.' The tone was clipped and professional, clashing with the street-punk appearance.

A flash off to the right caused them both to turn slightly. 'Mr Kaiba, maybe we should continue our discussions in the car?' The press were starting to flock around them. The boy nodded. The two turned back and strode to the car. Their strides were long and purposeful, screaming high class. The press followed them, shouting questions that went ignored. But even the picture was enough for a front page, unless of course Batman went for it.

The car ride was uneventful. The boy sat straight backed, a shockingly rigid posture for someone so young. He supposed this was why he looked so tall, every inch was used to add to the intimidation. The long legs were crossed, briefcase balanced in his lap. He wondered how he could hold himself that way. Even he, himself, slouched a little.

Was this partnership going to work? KaibaCorp had made some advances in technology that Wayne Enterprises badly needed. Seto had agreed to support them, but the need to meet the man...boy...in person was overpowering. After all, it was a good policy. And anyway, they needed someone with knowledge of the technology to asist in the installation. But KaibaCorp was focused in the entertainment industry, whereas Wayne Enterprises was focused in pretty much everything.

Whan the car arrived in front of the mansion, Bruce caught sight of Alfred waiting outside the door. Well, even if the patnership went to hell, at least he'd get some amusment out of it.

And so ends the prolouge. If it's crap, tell me and I'll stop writing. If it's good, tell me and I'll keep writing. Just please review, cause I hate not knowing what to do.


	2. Arrivals

Hiya everybody! Ok, nobody kill me. I know I promised this ages ago, but between one thing and another I never got around to doing it. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

Chaper two: Arrival

Alfred Pennyworth had lived for many years under the roof of Wayne manor. During that time, he had seen many strange things. It seemed every mastor of the place was eccentric in their own way. Up to, and including the latest one, who crossed being a vigilante crimefighter with being a multi-millionaire. But never before had he seen anything like the sight approaching him.

It was the business contact Mr Wayne had gone to meet, that much was obvious. But, it was a child. A child so thin that it was obvious that a repeat of Mr Wayne's teenage years was bound to happen. Alfred sighed, wondering if force feeding a strange child was the same as force feeding the one in your care.

He looked the boy up and down again, noticing with distaste that, instead of the refined business man he'd heard of, he was looking at what appeared to be a street punk on a drug deal. Only the blue eyes, standing out from beneath the strands of hazel hair screamed high class and power. Electric icey blue, so pure and glacial that they rivaled Mr Wayne's.

Silently, he looked past the boy, and at his employer. Mr Wayne had obviously been expecting his reaction, as a small smile was playing around the corners of his mouth. Alfred pursed his lips and led them inside.

He watched as the coat slide from the boy's narrow shoulders, and noted that the child was even thinner without it. He took the silvery material out of the boy's hands with far more force then he would have liked.

He was angry. Angry that the boy should dress in this way, and so obviously starve himself that it was painful. He hadn't felt this angry since Bruce had been at his worst several years earlier. No child should be allowed to do this to themselves.

xXx

Bruce blinked, staring at the old butler with alarm. He had expected Alfred's reaction at the door, not this sudden display of obvious anger. Glancing quickly at the boy, he saw something akin to fear flicker for a split second in the depths of those blue eyes. Then it was gone, and the boy turned to him.

"Mr Wayne ..."

Bruce cut him off with a gentle wave of his hand. The boy looked ever so slightly offended, and Bruce blinked. He was not supposed to talk to this boy as a child, he realised. This boy was not Dick or Tim, this was a business contact. He sighed, and glanced over at Alfred, whose crinkled eyes were alight with silent laughter. He sighed.

_Note to self: Remember to show respect when talking to business colleagues, no matter their age._

"Mr Kaiba, please. Tomorrow is for business, it is far too late to work at present. Why don't you allow Alfred to show you to your room, and get settled?"

The boy blinked slowly, and muttered something in japanese. Something which ended in the word 'Baka'. He blinked slightly, and made a mental note to refresh his japanese insult vocabulary.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching the boy and his butler ascend to the upper floors of his vast manor. Once they had disappeared, he shook his head. He wanted to know what was wrong with Alfred, though something inside him already knew. He also wanted to know what 'baka' meant specifically, as it was obviously an insult. Strangely, he'd never heard that one before. Maybe it was not something a jilted oriental debutante would say to a playboy like him. But most importantly, he wanted to know exactly how he would keep his secrets if the boy was any way like normal teenagers.

The last thing he needed was an overly curious teenager finding out his secrets. Well, another overly curious teenager.

Scratch all of that. The last thing he needed was a _powerful _overly curious teenager finding out his secrets. Satisfied, he turned on his heel and went in search of his briefcase. Alfred had hidden the damn thing in the few minutes between their arrival and showing the boy to his room.

xXx

Alfred couldn't help but notice the way the boy's eyes flickered to everything that lined the walls along the corridors. He could see the boy was itching to stop and examine some of the paintings. He could see the raging battle between the boy's self control and his curiosity. Self-control was loosing, but only slightly.

He coughed slightly, and opened the door of the room that'd been prepared earlier. The boy blinked, coming out of his stupor, and stepped past the old man and over the threshold of the door. The room was large, spacious and comfortable. One of the best Alfred had been able to find and prepare on such short notice.

Mr Wayne had not yet seemed to grasp how much time preparing for a guest took. Perhapes they should invite more guests? He shook his head slightly, and turned to the boy. The silvery briefcase had been laid on the bed, on top of the small suitcase.

He coughed slightly again, and a pair of haunting blue eyes shot up to meet his from under their hazel curtain.

"Dinner is in one hour, Mr Kaiba. I will return to show you to the dining hall when you are required."

The boy gazed at him for a moment longer, then spoke. The harsh, clipped business voice clashed horribly with his attire.

"I'm afraid I mightn't be able to make it down to dinner. Please express my apologies to Mr Wayne."

Alfred felt anger bubble in the depths of his stomach.

"It would be rude not to attend, Mr Kaiba. Mr Wayne has insisted."

His employer had done nothing of the sort, but Alfred was not about to let the child skip a meal. The boy blinked once more, then straightened.

"I will see you in an hour then," came the clipped voice, before the door slammed in Alfred's face.

xXx

Well? Responses? Please leave a review. Pretty please with a cherry on top?


End file.
